Carroll Shelby’s 1966 GT350H Hits the Auction Block
After the Ford Mustang was launched in 1964, it didn’t take long for racer and businessman Carroll Shelby to create high-performance versions of the Pony Car, which were sold through Ford dealerships.
In 1965, the first souped-up GT350 cars appeared. They featured the Mustang’s 289-cubic-inch V8, but modifications bumper horsepower from 271 to 306. In 1966, Shelby swung a deal with the Hertz Corporation to offer the GT350H, or the Hertz Rent-a-Racer, allowing customers to rent the sports car on Friday night, give it a go on a racetrack during the weekend and bring it back on Monday morning. Real cheap.
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One particular GT350H was put into service on January 19th, 1966 in California. It was equipped with chrome Magnum wheels (USD$104.56), a radio ($45.45) and a brake booster ($39.58), and its total invoice climbed to USD$3,865. The car was bought from a private customer a year and a half later, and its eventual second owner modified it with components such as GT350R apron and wheels, a ’65 GT350 pod with tach and oil pressure gauge, valve covers, a radiator, a roll bar and a Barry Plastiglas rear spoiler.
The third owner of this GT350H was Carroll Shelby himself.
The car remained in the Shelby collection since, and was on display at the Imperial Palace Automobile Collection in Las Vegas. Since 2008, it was on display at Shelby Automobiles, also in Vegas, but is now hitting the auction block.
Carroll’s GT350H was returned to original specification, but kept the R-Model wheels. It will be auctioned by Bonhams in Scottsdale on January 18, 2018. It is expected to fetch between CAN$190,000 and CAN$250,000, and will be sold without reserve. Needless to say, the fact that the car was once owned by Mr. Shelby makes it a highly collectable vehicle.
